I think the biggest thing for me over the last 6 years is to notice when I deviate (cause I mean, it's gonna happen now and again) is that I wake feeling bloated. It takes forever to get out of bed and when I do I feel sluggish. With no grains/starches I really feel much more alive and ready to greet the world. I also love waking with a flat stomach!

I can say the same about dairy, which I can't resist (I love cheese) and indulge in from time to time

Joanna WAHM to DS 10/2007You must be the change you wish to see - Ghandi

it will. as someone who's BTDT it usually offers excitement for about a week, maybe 2. Then you just have a rut that includes new foods and you feel crappy. Better to inspire yourself in other ways! Hopefully we'll get some bites on my thread-lol. I'm right there with you!

Just a note on how grains/sugars might affect us...I started getting my hemorrhoids zapped around the time I started Paleo (about 5 weeks ago). I've had o/off perineal itching forever, and it went away! I chalked it up to getting treatment for the 'rhoids. I figured they were the cause in the first place (since I'd ruled out an infection of any kind, including yeast). BUT last weekend I indulged at a friend's birthday dinner - a couple of pieces of crostini, some chocolate mousse. Then I had a cake pop at the coffee shop, figuring it was no big deal...but then mid-week, the itching started up again! The ND I'm seeing for the hemorrhoids said I was having a flare of some sort, and he agreed it could be due to my grain & sugar indulgence. It's giving me the motivation to keep off the grains. I've been so tempted lately!

Now, if my IBS would just go away completely!

Otherwise, I'm loving this grain/sugar free thing (dairy free, too, except butter, but that's because of my DD). I've lost 9 pounds and 2% body fat since I started, and feel stronger every day. I still have a lot of stiffness, and feel like my muscles and joints are still dealing with inflammation. I'm hoping that goes away eventually, too.

Does anyone here do CrossFit in addition to being Primal/Paleo? I have a couple of friends who swear by it, and I'm intensely interested, but balking at the cost, since i already belong to a gym. I've thought of doing it just for a couple of months, then setting up a home gym. But I"m not sure I have the motivation to keep it up alone.

we owned a crossfit for several years, so the answer is yes. We just sold it last year. I'd say whether it's worth it depends largely on the trainers. As a result some facilities are great, and some are....less so. Crossfit is changing rapidly but you can still find good places.

Had my first big carb craving today after a couple weeks of not having any. But then I only started seriously two days ago. I totally cheated on dinner (went drive-thru, need I say more?). So I'm feeling a bit bummed. Not so much because I cheated, but because the cravings were so strong and nothing "healthy" appealed to me. I fe.t like I was sick of nuts and meat and veggies. I'm sure this will pass, but it was discouraging to get a big craving so soon into it. I'm determined to get back on the wagon tomorrow, but this was a challenge.

Piglet, I hear you about nothing sounding good. I try to always have turn to foods if I am feeling like I need to splurge, but not all day foods, like super dark chocolate, favorite cashew butter, grapes, or even the dreded potatoes chips. But I have learned that just the pure joy of eating is important too in being healthy. I am trying to not hate food without my old faves, dairy and bread. Off to have leftover apple crisp with almond flour for breakfast...

Well, despite my cheating the other day, I stepped on the scales today. I appear to have already lost about 2 - 3 pounds and the week is not over yet. That itself has been a big boost to my motivation. Here's hoping it continues!

Just a note on how grains/sugars might affect us...I started getting my hemorrhoids zapped around the time I started Paleo (about 5 weeks ago). I've had o/off perineal itching forever, and it went away! I chalked it up to getting treatment for the 'rhoids. I figured they were the cause in the first place (since I'd ruled out an infection of any kind, including yeast). BUT last weekend I indulged at a friend's birthday dinner - a couple of pieces of crostini, some chocolate mousse. Then I had a cake pop at the coffee shop, figuring it was no big deal...but then mid-week, the itching started up again! The ND I'm seeing for the hemorrhoids said I was having a flare of some sort, and he agreed it could be due to my grain & sugar indulgence. It's giving me the motivation to keep off the grains. I've been so tempted lately!

Now, if my IBS would just go away completely!

Otherwise, I'm loving this grain/sugar free thing (dairy free, too, except butter, but that's because of my DD). I've lost 9 pounds and 2% body fat since I started, and feel stronger every day. I still have a lot of stiffness, and feel like my muscles and joints are still dealing with inflammation. I'm hoping that goes away eventually, too.

Does anyone here do CrossFit in addition to being Primal/Paleo? I have a couple of friends who swear by it, and I'm intensely interested, but balking at the cost, since i already belong to a gym. I've thought of doing it just for a couple of months, then setting up a home gym. But I"m not sure I have the motivation to keep it up alone.

I just started cross fit a couple of weeks ago. I can only go twice a week so I use it as my "lift heavy things" as outlined on marks site. I still need to add in sprints every week and walk more though. I have no motivation to exercise unless someone is really pushing me... otherwise I think I would just do it all at home.

we owned a crossfit for several years, so the answer is yes. We just sold it last year. I'd say whether it's worth it depends largely on the trainers. As a result some facilities are great, and some are....less so. Crossfit is changing rapidly but you can still find good places.

Interesting. You think Crossfit is changing in a "bad" way? This is the place where my friend works out; I am joining her for a free class on Tuesday if the scheduling works out: CrossFitXFactor

I finally hit 10 pounds lost. Some of the "symptoms" I had before starting went away in the first couple of weeks and now have come back. :( I don't feel like I'm "cheating" much or at all, so I'm not sure if those symptoms are diet related as I thought they were. Which is disappointing - I was so looking forward to being DONE with IBS and itching, and feeling like I'd found the answer. I'm not giving up this lifestyle, though. It feels good to me in many other ways.

So neat- Yesterday was dh's b-day and I made him and the kids a GF and DF carrot cake. I decided to have some and I am so happy that I am not reacting that much. I watched my intake, but I think I could atleast splurge on grain for a holiday if I felt like it. I do have minor inflammation, but not a big deal. Last time I trialed rice or eggs a month and a half ago, I was doubled over hurting and paying for it the next three days.

Hello everyone! i have not read all 7 pages but did skim through a few pages.

I started eating paleo for my whole family 3 weeks ago. That first week was hard but now I can say that I have very little desire for grains anymore and I have been a complete sugar addict for years. i used to eat several cookies a day. I think the thing that made a huge difference in our ability to stick with it is my purchasing 2 new cookbooks. Everyday Paleo and the Primal Blueprint Solution Cookbook. There are so many yummy recipes in there i actually feel like we are eating much better now, the food is so good!

Ds is allergic to almonds and eggs so it has been a bit harder to feed him but i found that since cutting out sugar and grains he has become much less picky. He has been eating tons of broccoli and cauliflower which was unheard of before. I am hoping to heal his eczema and tooth decay.

unfortunate I haven't been buying anything Organic or grass fed, etc. I really desperately wish that we could but we just cannot afford it. However our diet is 99% whole real foods.

Well, that leaves me still confused, because I don't know how it changed or what it was like when it started. That's OK, though!

ah, sorry. so in the beginning it was really technique oriented, very primal in focus, very based on a person's individual needs and safety. There were no politics behind closed doors, no shenanigans etc. Now it's a very different game. Anyone who wants to be a trainer just has to pay the fee (before they invited people with a good reputation and solid background.) I've seen people get cert'd who have worked out for a month of their lives (no exaggeration.) It's a "hardcore contest" for the most part (how many times did you puke during the workout? places will boast about the number of puke buckets needed in the facility and show how many people shredded their hands on the kipping pull ups.) You can still find quality places if you look hard enough, but it used to be that all places were quality and without the crazy stigma.

Now, only one or two organizations will insure crossfit facilities because they way many run them it's a dangerous operation. It's just different.

ah, sorry. so in the beginning it was really technique oriented, very primal in focus, very based on a person's individual needs and safety. There were no politics behind closed doors, no shenanigans etc. Now it's a very different game. Anyone who wants to be a trainer just has to pay the fee (before they invited people with a good reputation and solid background.) I've seen people get cert'd who have worked out for a month of their lives (no exaggeration.) It's a "hardcore contest" for the most part (how many times did you puke during the workout? places will boast about the number of puke buckets needed in the facility and show how many people shredded their hands on the kipping pull ups.) You can still find quality places if you look hard enough, but it used to be that all places were quality and without the crazy stigma.

Now, only one or two organizations will insure crossfit facilities because they way many run them it's a dangerous operation. It's just different.

Interesting. Thanks for explaining. There are MANY CrossFit places here in Portland, and only one or two seem like the hardcore/competition place. Many many of them cater to middle aged overweight women, it seems! The place I am looking at runs trainings, so I'm guessing it's one of the good ones.

Quote:

IsaFrench said:

you too have itching then (for me exclusively anal itching, but I cannot sleep at night because of it ...)

Mine is anal/perineal itching, too. Which gets worse at night. I've had it checked out and no signs of yeast or bacteria (or pinworms). I've currently seeing an ND to "zap" my hemarrhoids, thinking that they were the cause...I started that abot the same time I started Paleo, so honestly I don't know which had the effect of easing the itch. Or if perhaps it's hormonal (recently got my periods back after DD's birth). Whatever the cause, I'm ready to be DONE with it! I swear I've had it for 2-3 years, at least.

I see a big difference in the food budgets of people who have allergies/intolerances and those who don't. I cater to gluten, dairy, and soy free. Sometimes it seems gluten and soy are in EVERYTHING. Sometimes I get a little sad that I have to pay $7 for a silly bottle of mayo when everyone else gets it for so much less but at least I have my families health.

redclover, the reason I'm going grain free is the starches and gums in GF left my blood sugar going haywire and my belly bloated. I was feeling truly horrible. I've recently gotten rid of all the starches and gums. I mainly use almond flour now with a little bit of coconut flour.

I personally would love not to cook all the time but I've given up on that. I've just renamed the kitchen the "living room" since it seems to be where I am. Does anyone have any suggestions on how not to cook all the time? That is, other than eating out. That's not an option here.

Do you cook in batches? This is the only way that I don't LIVE in the kitchen. We eat about 95% from scratch. Simplify breakfast for one thing. You can do batches of muffins, etc. and freeze them. Serve them with a coconut kefir smoothie in the morning or with eggs. Make extra for left overs or to freeze for later.

Jennie: Working mother to 3 and loving wife to my hubby for over 12 years
Emily 10 Taylor 8 Logan 6

Mine is anal/perineal itching, too. Which gets worse at night. I've had it checked out and no signs of yeast or bacteria (or pinworms). I've currently seeing an ND to "zap" my hemarrhoids, thinking that they were the cause...I started that abot the same time I started Paleo, so honestly I don't know which had the effect of easing the itch. Or if perhaps it's hormonal (recently got my periods back after DD's birth). Whatever the cause, I'm ready to be DONE with it! I swear I've had it for 2-3 years, at least.

What is your ND doing to zap them? I have had this since having DD2. It flairs up around when I have my period so it seems to be somewhat hormone related.

Becky- Wife to DH, Mama to "Nani" (July '08) "Coco" (July '10) and expecting one very wiggly baby boy in May 2013!

Just got to share- last night I had a very primal dinner at a friends house. We ate local duck and potatoes from down the road, cooked in a dutch oven cooked over a fire (bed of coals) since they have no kitchen and live in a grass hut in the woods. We also collected wild edibles of dandelion lf, nettles, burdock rt, and violet, and chives, and cooked those too separately over the fire. We had almond flour apple crisp for dessert that I brought. It was so primal feeling and I loved it. Kind of makes me miss the days when I lived in a primitive shelter and how I met my dh also living in the woods. I am making a goal to eat one edible plant a day. I would love to cook more outside too. Dh and I talked about building a primitive shelter and living in it for the summer to freshen our skills. If I can make it to camping in the yard in a tent, that would be an accomplishment.

A story I just heard- recently a local guy had cancer and got a falcon, and trained it to fetch him food and only ate what the bird brought him and he was cured of cancer. Cool!

How interesting, Bluebirdmama! I cannot imagine myself living that primitively for long, but I love hearing about others that do.

CoBabyMaker, he uses low level electricity to zap them, if I understand correctly. He uses a speculum to open thing up, then each hemmerrhoid gets about 5 minutes of current. He only does 2 at a time, and does them a few days apart. We are all done with the internals now, and the tag comes off in 2 weeks. I think its the tag that causes most of my symptoms, but the internals caused the tag, so they went first. He thinks if I can keep the IBS under control, I may be symptom free for a LONG time.

I went to a CrossFit "class" with a friend last night. Wow! Its been a long time since I worked that hard! I left feeling great, like I could do ANYTHING. But I'm having a hard time justifying the cost. And the more I read Mark's Daily Apple, the more interested I am in that model of fitness. And I have to admit, the baby is a big reason for not doing CrossFit. Esp. if I am only lifting for 30 minutes, it is easier to take her to the gym daycare twice a week than try to fit in CrossFit when my DH is available for kid duty. Maybe in the fall/winter, it will be more feasible.

Is anyone else eating this way this with nursling? She's starting to show signs of allergy/intolerances (allergic shiners, cradle cap), as well as gas that wakes her every couple of hours at night. With me off grains and dairy, I'm wondering what could be behind her symptoms.

I'm sorry to hear about your baby having issues, karen1968. Hope you figure out the issue soon!

Just posting to say how happy I am with this diet. I have an internet buddy who is also on a weight loss/fitness regime, but she is going the traditional route of low fat. It doesn't sound like fun to me. With no sugars OR fats she is really craving foods alot and not feeling satisfied. I'm amazed at how satisfied I feel and how little I want to cheat. I'm quite certain it's the fats that help with that. She is also going to a gym and doing workouts etc. I don't do any more exercise than what I always did, a moderate level of fitness with dog-walking, bike-riding, and working on our rural property. After trying to do low-fat and low-sugar, and after trying to force myself to exercise to burn calories, I can honestly say that this diet is the easiest and most pleasurable of any!

At the end of my first week I lost 2 lbs, but that was after 1 cheat dinner (a McChicken meal; yes I hang my head in shame to announce that here on MDC!), 3 days of red wine with dinner (my mother was visiting and brought lots of wine!) and two nights of double servings of her amazing rhubarb pie. Even after all that I lost weight!! Now I'm halfway through week 2 and am already down another 1.5 lbs (and no visiting mother to tempt me). I've turned into an obsessive scale-user, but only because I get a thrill every time I step on it! I sure hope this lasts!

Is anyone else eating this way this with nursling? She's starting to show signs of allergy/intolerances (allergic shiners, cradle cap), as well as gas that wakes her every couple of hours at night. With me off grains and dairy, I'm wondering what could be behind her symptoms.

My baby (same DDC :)) tends to get gassy if I go heavy on the poultry in any form (eggs, chicken, turkey). We are, at this point, eating mostly standard commercial poultry, so I'm not sure if it's really the bird, or something involved in commercial poultry processing.